MEXICO CITY – According to legislators and experts gathered in the Binational Forum to Prevent of Human Trafficking — organized by Green Party (PVM) Representative Paola Félix Lara — human trafficking is the second most profitable illegal business in the world.

Transnational crime rings are responsible for the transport of Mexican children to the United States and other countries. In Mexico, 79 percent of trafficking victims are women, while children make up 40 percent — that is, 70,000 children are victims of sexual exploitation.

On this topic, President of the Chamber of Deputies Javier Bolaños acknowledged that the actions of the Congress to address this issue have been lacking, since the bill proposed by the Senate was stalled. Bolaños criticized authorities who turn a blind eye to this situation due to corruption; the high yields of human trafficking are comparable to those produced by drug traffic.

An officer of the Federal Police stands in front of a house after a raid to rescue four victims of human trafficking. Photo: Cuartoscuro/Luis Carbayo

Antonio Luigi Mazitelli, representative of the United Nations on Drugs and Crime in Mexico, stated there is still a long way to go despite the progress Mexico has made on the subject. Attorney general Rodolfo Ríos Garza claimed that since 2012 Mexico City has seen 769 operations to arrest hundreds of people linked to human trafficking. These efforts have helped convict criminals and release victims, as well as dismantle facilities used for said purposes. Erik Drickensen, head of the FBI office in Mexico, said the United States works in close collaboration with other countries to fight human trafficking — one of the top priorities of the FBI — Mexico especially.